Lawyers Concerned About Ottawa Police’s Threat of Criminal Prosecution of Those ‘Involved in This Protest’

Police confront protesters in Ottawa on Feb. 19, 2022. (Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times)

A Twitter post by the Ottawa Police Service threatening criminal prosecution for those “involved in this protest” raises concerns for some lawyers who fear people’s rights will be trampled upon.

“If you are involved in this protest, we will actively look to identify you and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges,” the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said on Twitter on Feb. 20.

Derek From, a lawyer based in Alberta, says he is concerned with the “vague and ambiguous threat” in the post.

“What does involved mean? Does that mean that you support the truckers financially? Does that mean that you support them on social media? Does that mean that you’ve fed them when they passed by or that you’ve waived a Canadian flag?” he said in an interview.

“This sort of incoherent tweet from the police will have a chilling effect on political speech. It is meant to intimidate Canadians. It is meant to keep them from exercising their right of political speech.”

From says the OPS’s comment shows there’s an emphasis being put on enforcing the will of the police and government without consideration for the rights people are entitled to.

“What is most telling in this tweet is what is conspicuously missing. There is no mention of the charter. No mention of the rights of Canadians regarding police searches. It’s dominated by an expression of their overwhelming drive to enforce at all cost. This is precisely why Canadians have charter rights: To protect us from the state, to protect us from the police,” From said. “To me, a liberty-loving lawyer, it seems as though Canada has fallen into lawlessness, and the lawless party is the state.”

Darryl Davies, a lecturer in criminology at Carleton University, says OPS’s comment is in effect a witch hunt.

“This is what you expect in communist Russia,” he said in an interview.

Lisa Bildy, a lawyer based in Ontario, is also concerned with the OPS’s comment.

“Those words are extremely vague and likely intentionally so. They are meant to cast a chill on any support for the movement, regardless of the form it takes,” she told The Epoch Times.

The Epoch Times asked OPS for comment, but the police force said it “will not comment further on the clear directive,” referencing comments made by interim police chief Steve Bell at a Feb. 19 press conference.

“If you are involved in this protest, we will actively look to identify you and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges,” Bell said. “This investigation will go on for months to come. It has many, many different streams both from a federal financial level, from a provincial licensing level, from a Criminal Code level, from a municipal breach of court order, breach of court injunction level.”

When asked to elaborate further on what is meant by “this protest,” the OPS said, “you can consult the Emergencies Act announced by the federal Government last week.”

The government’s Feb. 15 proclamation declaring the use of the act makes reference to “ongoing blockades.” Its only reference to “protest” is to make clear that “lawful advocacy, protest or dissent” is exempted from actions targeted by the use of the Emergencies Act.

Emergencies Act

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 to deal with the ongoing protests against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, initially started by truck drivers opposed to vaccination requirements for cross-border travel.

David Anber, a criminal defence lawyer based in Ottawa, says that not only was the use of the Emergencies Act not warranted, it’s also being misused by law enforcement.

“The regulations are actually quite well written, I think, but they are disconnected from what the prime minister is saying and from what the police are doing,” Anber told The Epoch Times.

Protesters demonstrate against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 17, 2022. (Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times)

“The Emergencies Act prohibits an assembly that ... not just interferes, but seriously interferes with the movement of people or goods or trade, or interferes with critical infrastructure, or threats to use or uses violence. And the police are going in there and they’re just arresting anybody, whether or not they’re involved in such a described assembly, which, none of them are actually doing any of those things within the regulations.”

Anber says he doesn’t think the OPS’s Twitter post is more bark than bite.

“They do have the bite because they have the guns and the manpower and the horses, the literal horses, to do what they need to do. Now, when the dust settles, there will be numerous examples of the police exceeding their powers. And it’s very problematic. I’ve seen people being arrested when they weren’t taking part in an unlawful assembly. I’ve seen police officers prohibiting people from attending lawyers’ offices, including my own. I’ve seen them prohibiting media from entering the area. Contrary to what Justin Trudeau said, charter rights are not being respected under the Emergencies Act,” he said.

When announcing the use of the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, Trudeau said, “We’re not suspending fundamental rights or overriding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We are not limiting people’s freedom of speech. We are not limiting freedom of peaceful assembly. We are not preventing people from exercising their right to protest legally. We are reinforcing the principles, values, and institutions that keep all Canadians free.”

Anber says the Emergencies Act should have never been implemented to deal with the protest in Ottawa.

“Had the protests at the border continued and … had the normal tools available been unsuccessful at clearing them, I think the infrastructure there and the need for international trade might have justified use of the Emergencies Act. I don’t think it justifies the use in Ottawa,” he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet ministers take part in a press conference to announce that that the Emergencies Act will be invoked to deal with protests, on Feb. 14, 2022. (Hailey Sani/Public Domain)

Bildy also thinks that the situation in Ottawa doesn’t warrant the use of the Emergencies Act.

“In my opinion, the protests in Ottawa do not meet the threshold for the invocation of extraordinary powers under the Emergencies Act, including freezing bank accounts. Millions of Canadians viewed the Freedom Convoy as a peaceful protest and a hopeful demonstration of unity,” she said.

“The fact that other people characterized it as some sort of insurrection or occupation doesn’t change the intent and perception of those who donated a few bucks, or went to Parliament Hill to protest mandates and other intrusive government policies. There are still constitutional protections for peaceful assembly and expression in this country.”

Bank Accounts Frozen

At a virtual press conference on Feb. 19, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said 76 Canadian bank accounts have already been frozen in relation to the protests under the powers granted by the Emergencies Act.

“History will look poorly upon it. There’s a vocal minority of people who are cheering on these abuses. To [their] credit, there’s honest people on both the left and the right who believe that both the invocation of the Emergencies Act was not proper and who believe that the police action is not proper either,” Anber said.

The OPS posted another comment later on Feb. 20, saying, “Reminder that the Secured Area remains in effect. You cannot travel into the area unless you have proof of exclusion. Two people have just been arrested.”

Referencing the OPS’s comment, Thornhill, Ont. MP Melissa Lantsman said on Twitter, “If you would like to come to Parliament Hill today to protest the Government’s unjustified use of the Emergencies Act. You cannot. You will be arrested.”

When asked for further comment, she told the Epoch Times, “The government has given itself the power to freeze assets and finances of people involved in a political protest, people who disagree with the government’s COVID policy, without Parliament, without oversight, and with no recourse available to the targeted—and it’s wrong.”

The Liberal government is defending its use of the Emergencies Act, saying it’s needed to deal with “illegal blockades.”

“The federal government is ready to use more tools at its disposal to get the situation fully under control,” Trudeau said on Feb. 14.

The use of the act is currently being debated in the House of Commons, with the NDP supporting the government’s use of the measure.  The Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois are opposed to the use of the act.